First Meeting
by AntiSora
Summary: Aster arrived at Sybak at the age of nine. He was assigned to work with a half-elf, one Richter Abend. All things considered, their first meeting could have gone a lot worse.


Why, yes, I am posting something more. And yes, I did just finish this. And yes, I did just basically do this today, though I've had notes for about a week now. This came about in response to a prompt over on deviantART for a Tales Of fan group. Prompt was "Childhood Memory" and considering Aster is 9 at the time, I think this fits that. We know so little about him, it really gave me a lot of room to be creative which is why I decided to write about him. That, and like I've said before-Richter and especially Aster need more love. So I decided to do some 'When Aster met Richter' stuff. XD I'm not the only one that has this general idea of how he came to be at Sybak. Honestly, I just like giving characters angsty pasts. I may or may not eventually continue this or at least expand on the idea and delve into my idea of his past (which I'll be sure to tone down simply because I'm a twisted person who enjoys the suffering of fictional characters to a great degree) at some point in the future. Or I might not. Depends on inspiration. And yes, I'm still working on the projects on my profile-or planning to. I'd remove them if I wasn't planning to ever get around to finishing/starting them.

Now, enough of my babbling, I hope you enjoy this! Reviews are always greatly appreciated! And if you find typos/grammatical errors/things that just sounds poorly written, let me know, please!

Oh, one more thing: I know the basement lab we see in the games is basically a one-room deal. I'm going with the idea that what we see in the games is just a simplified version. Because this lets me be more creative. XD

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Aster, Richter, Sybak nor anything save the writing itself. I make no money from this, it is written purely as a fan work for my entertainment and the entertainment of other fans. I do not own Tales of Symphonia (either one), unless you count my copies of the games, but I don't think that does count. Trust me, if I owned ToS2, there would be a lot more Aster, a lot less Marta, and the ending couple would be Richter/Emil. Oh, I guess I own the guy I used for the Director, I basically just came up with a description/personality on the spot, so...

* * *

"We'll take care of everything, you can be sure of that."

"Right, whatever. What about the fee?"

Standing quietly to the side, a young boy of about nine years of age watched the three adults as they discussed the transaction taking place. He blinked up at the male and female who had brought him, watching as they argued over a change in price with the older man. He looked about the room, taking everything in.

The room was rather small, and there were a few shelves against the wall lined with many, many books. More books were strewn about the desk alongside a number of papers, as well as stacked on the floor. There were no windows, so the lighting was provided by lamps attached to the walls. The man to whom the room belonged, at least for the time being, was an older male. A pair of glasses sat on a rather small nose, his dark brown hair beginning to thin on the top. His pants and shoes were black, as was the shirt he wore. Over the shirt he wore a white coat, as many of those living and working in the Academy did.

"Then we're in agreement. It's been a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. and Mrs.—"

"Yeah, yeah, we're in a hurry. Nice doing business with you, too. We won't be in touch."

The boy watched as the man and woman hurried out of the room, discussing how they would spend their money. He looked back to the older male. He was wearing a rather sour face, obviously displeased by their rather rude departure. After a moment he went back to his desk, sorting through some papers. Locating the ones he wanted, he looked over them, checking something, before turning to the boy and indicating the boy should follow him as he left the room.

"You'd better be worth it, boy, your parents demanded a rather hefty sum for you… You'll be working in the basement, with the half-breeds. No need for you to talk with others, you won't have time for being social."

The blond youngster understood the unspoken meaning behind those words. _'We don't want you getting too chatty, like you kids are known to do, and telling anybody about how you came here.'_ Dealing in _human_ trading would not look good for Sybak.

The boy remained silent, his eyes glancing all around to take in as much as possible. Various people, many of whom were also wearing lab coats, walked through the halls discussing various things amongst themselves. Some of them paused to watch the young boy silently following the Director in the direction of the basement labs. The boy ignored the stares and quiet whispers.

As he was led into the basement, he continued to look around. He saw several people discussing notes and such things as he and the director entered. They froze, looking up warily. Nobody said anything, watching the two humans with hints of fear and unease. The boy supposed they were the half-elves he was to work with.

The area seemed like a prison. The walls were made of stone, the only light coming from lamps fixed to the walls. There were a few tiny tables set up around the room with papers and writing instruments on them, and no chairs. The end of the room directly opposite to where he had come in from led into a hall with several rooms branching off. At the end of the hall it appeared to branch again into two separate halls.

"Where's the one I spoke with the other day?"

The boy glanced at the Director, whose voice was, noting his look of obvious displeasure at not having his target presented to him immediately. A moment later a younger male, who looked to be only a few years older than the boy himself, hurried into the room. He hesitantly approached the two humans.

"Sir? You wanted to see me?" The half-elf watched the Director warily, never even glancing at the boy beside the man. He nervously adjusted his glasses, pushing them up a bit. His green eyes were tinged with unease as he waited for the Director to address him, and he seemed to be resisting the urge to shift uneasily beneath the human's gaze. His red hair was long, past his shoulders. His outfit consisted of a dark colored shirt and pants, perhaps a deep brown or black. His shoes seemed the same color, and he wore the standard lab coat all those who worked at the Imperial Research Academy wore while working.

"This is your new partner. He will be working with you from today on. You will be sharing a room. I believe you have already been sent a cot."

The half-elf started, blinking in surprise at the young human the director indicated. After a moment he nodded, still looking confused but unwilling to argue with the human. "Yes, sir. Understood."

The Director nodded, then turned and left, calling back over his shoulder as he headed back up the stairs, "Be sure to show him to your room. He is to aid you for the rest of the day as soon as you have him settled."

The boy waited in silence, unsure of what to do. After several long minutes of being observed by the half-elves, the red-haired one turned. His voice was carefully devoid of emotion as he did. "Follow me, kid."

The boy silently followed the older male. Glancing around as they passed down the hall, he noted that the rooms that branched off seemed to be labs, from what he could see behind the few doors that stood ajar. His guide was silent, and he wondered for a moment if they would ever be able to get along—half-elves weren't known for their fondness for humans. Knowing how they were treated, however, the boy certainly didn't blame them for being wary of him.

His first impression of the layout had been right. Upon reaching the end of the hall, he saw that it did, indeed, branch off into two other halls, lined with doors. He followed the half-elf down one of them, past several doors before stopping in front of one. The half-elf opened the door, leading the human inside.

"This is where you'll be sleeping. We're to share."

The human glanced around the room, taking in his new home. It looked like a glorified prison cell, really. As with the rest of the basement, the walls were made of stone. Only a few lamps on the walls provided light, which wasn't quite sufficient to properly illuminate the room. There was a small desk against one wall, next to the door. Papers were neatly stacked upon the desk, the writing utensils placed nicely in holders. Two book shelves were placed against the walls, one on the wall in the back of the room, directly opposite the door, and the other beside the desk. Both shelves were packed with books, obviously all for research purposes, if the titles were anything to go by.

Against the wall to one side was a small bed, with a small pillow and a blanket that seemed like it was just adequate. To the other side was a small cot with a few holes in it. The pillow looked rather flat and the blanked had seen better days, with more holes than the cot. Another door was placed in the back wall, open enough that the boy could see it contained a washroom. It was very small and seemed barely large enough for one person.

"Just set your bag down where you want to sleep, kid."

Glancing to the half-elf, the boy hesitated. He wasn't sure where he had slept at first, before remembering the Director's words from earlier: _"I believe you have already been sent a cot."_ Walking into the room, the boy set his small bag containing some clothes down upon the cot. He glanced at the half-elf, noting the surprise on his face before it went carefully blank. _"I guess he expected me to take the bed…"_ The half-elf's next words confirmed his thoughts.

"What, don't you want the bed, _human_?" The last word was said with a trace of venom that made the boy want to flinch.

"_I haven't even done anything to him… I haven't even said anything. Do they really hate me just because I was born human? I can't help that anymore than they can help that they were born half-elves…"_

"Well, kid? Or are you too good to talk to a lowly half-elf?"

This time the boy did flinch slightly. He sighed softly, looking back at his new roommate. "I'm sorry, I was thinking. I'm fine with the cot, really, unless you'd prefer it…?"

The half-elf snorted, rolling his eyes, giving the human a 'what do _you_ think?" look. "Whatever. I suppose I'll have to introduce myself. I'm Richter Abend. What am I supposed to call you, kid?"

"I'm Aster." He continued after a moment when Richter watched him expectantly. "Just Aster, no last name."

Richter snorted, giving him a rather displeased look. "Whatever. Fine, not like I care what you're called, human. Tch, forget it. Come on, time to get back to work, I'll tell you what to do."

Aster sighed sadly as he followed the red-head out of the room. _"I guess we won't be getting along… No, I should still try. Unless he tells me not to, I'll try and get along. After all, if we're going to be working and living together, it makes sense that we should get along, right?"_

He snapped out of his thoughts just in time to hear the half-elf's next question.

"How old are you, kid?"

Blinking a few times and clearing his head of lingering stray thoughts he hesitantly responded. "I'm nine, Mr. Abend."

Richter stopped, staring at the kid. He opened his mouth to say something, then shut it, at a loss for words. It took him almost a full minute to finally speak. "Mr. Abend?"

Aster nodded. "Well, that's your name, right? Abend?"

Richter nodded, still looking unsure of how to handle the situation. "Yes. But… 'Mr. Abend?' Why…" He trailed off, unsure what to say.

It took Aster a moment to understand. _"He's not used to being addressed politely…"_ Hesitating a bit, he asked quietly "Would… Would you like me to call you something else, sir?" He waited a full two minutes before the half-elf was able to both close his mouth and come up with a response.

"J-just… Richter. It's less… It's just… Weird… To hear…" He trailed off again, still not quite recovered from the polite way in which the human was speaking to him. He blinked a few times after a moment, watching Aster nod.

"Okay, Richter." Aster shifted slightly, unsure of what to do as Richter continued to watch him for a moment.

The half-elf's brow furrowed as some thought occurred to him. "Wait. You said you're how old, again?"

"I'm nine. Today's my birthday." The boy smiled faintly at the half-elf, a strange mix of sadness, bitterness, and relief. _"I can't say this is the worst 'gift' I've ever had…"_

Richter blinked a few times. "Nine? Isn't that… Young for a human to be here?"

Aster shrugged, shifting slightly. "I guess. I just know they wanted me, and my parents didn't… Uh, see a problem with it…" He hoped the half-elf hadn't quite caught his hesitation before hurriedly continuing his sentence. From the half-elf's lack of reaction, the human assumed he hadn't caught it. _"Or just doesn't think anything of it."_

"…I see. Anyway, moving on… This is the lab I work in. You'll be working with me from now on, it seems, so I'll show you around, then get you started. You better not cause any trouble, I'm not taking the heat for anything you screw up."

Aster nods, mentally flinching. _"I guess they'll just blame him because he's a half-elf… That's not right…"_ He didn't say anything, though, as he entered the lab.

The lab was a small room, like all the rooms the half-elves were allowed it seemed. Tables were against all four walls, many papers and writing utensils spread about them, with some places cleared for books and various chemicals and the devices used to deal with said chemicals. Richter handed him a book and pointed to a chair, indicating he should sit.

"Here's what you'll be doing…"

Aster listened intently to everything Richter told him, doing exactly as he was told. It was several hours before they finished up for the day. Aster helped Richter clean up a bit before following the half-elf out to the main area where food was being served by several bored-looking humans. Following Richter's lead, though nervous, the boy got his dinner and hesitated. Noting Richter talking to several other half-elves, he decided to mind his own business and simply sat himself down in a corner, eating silently and going over the day's events in his mind. He didn't realize the red-head was waiting for him until he heard his name.

"Aster… Come on, it's time to get to bed."

Aster blinked up at the annoyed-looking half-elf and quickly apologized, "Sorry, I was thinking."

Giving him another annoyed frown, the half-elf turned and headed off. Aster hurried after him.

Once in their room, Aster noted the half elf simply hung his lab coat on a small peg on the wall beside his bed, took off his shoes, and promptly got into the bed, shutting off the lamp above it, leaving just the light near Aster's cot still on. He hurriedly removed his shoes and his own lab coat, which he had been given upon his arrival that afternoon, and folded it neatly before laying it on the floor beneath his cot.

He settled himself down, smiling faintly to himself as he pulled the blanket up, not minding how worn everything was. He fell asleep not long after, still thinking about his new life at Sybak.

_"This is a lot different from what I'm used to. It's going to take a while to adjust. But it's not bad, it's… Actually kind of nice here…"_


End file.
